Just in case the BLS seasonal adjustment needed a little confirmation prodding, here comes the BLS with its weekly initial claims number which at 358K (next week to be revised to over 360K), was a pleasant beat of expectations of 370K, down from an upward revised 373K the prior week. Offsetting this was an increase in continuing claims by 64K from 3437K to 3515K, up from an upward revised 3451K. According to Bloomberg's Joseph Brusuelas the underlying trend “supports modest improvement in labor market." Elsewhere, the net addition to EUCs and Extended benefits was a total of +19k. What this means is that the layoff wave of the temp worker hiring binge for the holiday season, is now ending. As for actual full time job additions, we will have to wait and see the "unadjusted" BLS data for that.

Why not, means more Chinese goods will be sold and that is good for the US corporations and the Chinese workers. As for the US wrokers, this con will play out in time because the millions unempoyed will not be swayed by this bull crap.

True dat. I have no idea the point of the Tea Party victory in 2010. Nothing was done and nothing has changed. For anyone who claims the parties have any differences, perhaps they can explain anything that has changed with the republican wins in the house and senate.

From where I sit, everthing is same ol' same ol'. Bigger central government, more restrictions of individual liberty and an ever growing nanny sate (excuse me, but how do I contact the Deaprtment of We Will Wipe Your Ass For You? You see, I had a bowel movement last night and it is really beginning to smell. I need someone to tell me what to do) wasn't exactly what the repubs were selling. But it appears to be what was bought.

Not that I believe we as a nation want anything to be different. The large majority appears to want to cede control of both their destiny and everday lives to the faceless trolls in the government. Fat dumb and happy I suppose.

Again, a significant problem with our political system is the candidates that are available, regardless of political affiliiation. In short, the self-nomination process is inherently designed to procure candidates that are capable of or desire to be molded into the den of vipers and thieves. Let me say that again, it is INHERENT in the system.

you have reached level 2 of your awakening, you realized that the 2 parties are like 2 football teams. who wins the superbowl has no real effect on the NFL, or the spectators. It may affect their emotions, but their finalnical situation or standard of living will not change.

Nonsense. The Democratic party absolutely has plent of corruption - no argument there. But there is an obvious difference between the two parties. The GOP is way out front, in handing over control of America to the financial 'services' industry. Look at the vote totals, below, then explain to us how "there's no difference between the parties".

We can fix this problem in three years. Vote out the clowns who supported the takeover. If your two candidates were both involved, vote out the one who was the dirtiest of the two. Politicians are nothing if not good at scenting a shift in the wind. Do this for the 2012 and 2014 elections, and we'd have substantially different Congress.

The bankers have more lobbyists in DC than everyone else, combined. The GOP votes virtually in a block for every bill giving the bankers more control of DC.

The financial 'services' industry is donating to the Romney campaign at 5X the rate they're donating to Obama. Guess which one they think is better for their interests? The average donation to Romney's SuperPac is $103 thousand dollars, the average to Omaba's is 55 bucks.

forget all data ...and all DRAMA...this is a BIG BULL RUN for world markets ...Indias Nifty broke resistance and is sure to go at least 250 points higer from here...that should translate to 1380 in the SnP.....JBTFD

This is officially the biggest nominal bull run in U.S. equity markets ever, surpassing that of 1930 to 1932.

From March lows in 2009, the Dow and spooz have more than doubled, and Nasdaq has fared even better.

It hasn't been impressive, save for the fact they've prevented a collapse for quite some time, since mid 2011 (this is a primary reason why many long standing and credible Hedge Fund managers retired in the last 18 months or so, returning investor capital).

When it comes to Robotard, he's been on two themes as to why this is, which aren't necessarily mututually exclusive, but I'd argue that they are pretty much exclusive in this case: 1) "The Pigmen" will print and drop money onto Wall Street Banks from B52s and gut fundamentals in order to get a Bernank-Obama virtuous circle wealth affect on equity indexes, 2) The economy is fundamentally strong (and not fundamentally weak - which presents a stark contrast).

It's obvious to anyone with an IQ above 80 that those whom Robotard refers to as the "Pigmen" have succeeded in juicing markets in nominal terms in an unprecedented way.

The bulk of the gains so far happened from March of 2009 to March of mid-2011.

I won't knock Robotard for his 'Pigmen will juice the market call,' being able to paper over (literally) what I believe to be a structurally, seriously ill economy.

If it took nearly 6 trillion USD in BernankBux and another 12 trillion USD in backstopping financial/banking sector losses (by the involuntary U.S. taxpayer) to get this far, so be it, and maybe they can keep this up for a while.

At any rate, there will be payback for these broken markets and the manipulation using fiat by the highway load that's occurred.

Congrats to those who identify where and when that payback will come, and are able to profit off of it.

I have zero reservations not being long this market. I learned that unless you are in the inner circle and a best friend of the NYC Branch of the Fed, all of one's lifetime gains in a Ponzi can be wiped out in weeks or months, in what are now called "equity markets;' 1929, 1933, many intervening periods in the interim, and 2000, and 2008 teach this lesson.

Equity markets are a rags to riches fairytale, and in the real world, a meatgrinder of destruction - this is why even the most successful handful of 'elite' hedge funds eke out 15% or 18% (and at the lower end 6%) returns during years that the overall indexes rise 60%), and the bulk of the rest barely break even or lose money in such 'boom times.'

There's no way I'd participate in these markets, as its worse than gambling given the unprecedented interventionism of government and central banks, completely warping any notion of free markets, and given the gigantic hand of 'benevolent' government and central bank activity that's propped everything up.

That hand is not benevolent, and even it will run up against a paradox of choice, and given how much paper they've thrown at the wall for how long, the backsplash is going to be epic.

There is no more market. It's literally a government run Casino. Gamblers unite, but just remember that the House ALWAYS wins over the long run, and economic fundamentals always reassert themselves as they're more powerful than the hand of governmental interventionism.

Well, I had to include that adjective because anyone who has been a long term holder of equities is down in nominal terms since 2000 and down in real, inflation adjusted terms since 1983.

Of course, this doesn't include the many, many people who were literally bankrupted by the markets, due to things such a survivorship bias, which the every-few-years reshuffling of the ticker symbols that comprise the indeces hides completely.

Most of these newly-employed are at minimum wage to $15/hr. A big adjustment from what they were used to perhaps, but still wildly-affluent compared to much of Asia and Europe. E.g., how many know that Germany has no minimum wage laws, and that wages of under 1 Euro/hr are common particularly in East Germany?

Romney is being pressed into service to do for America what Bain did for every business he bought: stuff all the loose cash in his pockets, dump the jobs to minimum wage, load the place up with debt, and leave town.

In fact, it's obvious that this doesn't have to be. Technology has brought huge increases in productivity in the last decades - we live in a land of plenty. As Henry Ford would say, there are plenty of people who want to work and plenty of people who want to buy things. It's just the parasitic bankers in the middle who are screwing things up.

But dumb-ass American voters have allowed themselves to be swayed by the flag waved in their faces by the right - to distract them while the right steals everything that isn't nailed down. The bankers have more lobbyists in DC than everyone else, combined. The GOP votes virtually in a block for every bill giving the bankers more control of DC.

The financial 'services' industry is donating to the Romney campaign at 5X the rate they're donating to Obama. Guess which one they think is better for their interests? The average donation to Romney's SuperPac is $103 thousand dollars, the average to Omaba's is 55 bucks.

I can't believe that you buy in to the left right crap. Take a look at how much money finacial services "invested" in Obama in 2008. It is more money than they have ever given to any candidate. I have news for you...... They give the money to the party they want in power.

That was 2008. This time around, the financial 'services' industry is donating to Romney 5X what they're donating to Obama. Average donation to Romney SuperPAC is $103 thousand, that to Obama's is 55 bucks.

Both parties are corrupt, granted. But one is significantly more so. When we pretent they're the same, we are signalling to politicians that corruption doesn't matter, in terms of getting our vote.

I would have to agree with the good Dr. here. Democrat-Republican, it makes no difference. By the time they get elected they are so beholding to their "sponsers" that the way they will vote on any matter is a foregone conclusion.